India will not raise the issue of retrieving the ashes believed to be that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ongoing visit to Japan as there is no 'political consensus' on the issue, a senior official said on Tuesday.
"I don't think there is political consensus at home which is why it (the ashes) is still in Japan," he said on the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso in Tokyo.
The official pointed out that Netaji's family also appears divided on the contentious issue, with some members refusing to believe that the ashes kept in Tokyo's Renkoji temple are that of Netaji.
He noted that though the government had appointed three commissions and accepted their results and the issue was discussed in Parliament, a political consensus has eluded the issue.
"The family of Netaji appears divided. Some family members agree that the ashes are that of him while others disagree," he said.
"So, no one has taken the last step," he said, declining to be drawn into a new controversy on the issue.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is believed to have died in a plane crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945. However, confusion persists over his mysterious disappearance."
